Smartphone maker Research in Motion is unveiling the BlackBerry Storm2. Model 9520 is being distributed for European customers, while North American carriers will offer model 9550. Its predecessor was the first BlackBerry to eschew a physical keyboard in favor of a touchscreen. It launched with mixed reviews, definitely not a good thing when you have competition like Apple's iPhone and the Palm Pre.

The Storm2 uses a similar 3.25 inch display. At 360 x 480 pixels, images and text look pretty good at its effective 184 ppi resolution. However, the Storm2 ships with the new BlackBerry OS 5 as opposed to OS 4.7 of the previous generation.

RIM claims that there are hundreds of enhancements in the new software, some of which will increase image quality of icons and text. An updated BlackBerry Browser boasts faster JavaScript and CSS processing, as well as support for Gears and BlackBerry Widgets. Applications developed for the original BlackBerry Storm are fully compatible with the Storm2.

On the hardware side, the Storm2 uses the same 528MHz MSM7600 CPU from Qualcomm as in the original Storm and BlackBerry Tour. The Storm2 uses a 1400 mAh battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time on 3G networks and 280 hours of standby time. A built-in 3.2 megapixel camera features variable zoom, autofocus, flash, video recording, and image stabilization. NVRAM and flash storage are both doubled at 256MB and 1GB respectively. The Storm2 will also support microSD/SDHC cards up to 32GB in size for extra storage.

The big news though is 802.11 b/g WiFi support, a feature that was sorely missed on the original Storm. The Storm2 will work worldwide, thanks to frequencies on UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM.

Both Verizon Wireless and Vodafone are targeted the lucrative Christmas shopping period. Vodafone customers in the UK and Ireland will be the first to get the Storm2, after which it will make its way to Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. It will also be made available in France, Italy and South Africa in time for Christmas.

Verizon customers in the U.S. will have to wait for the company's official launch.

Update: We have received updated model numbers from RIM, as reflected in the first paragraph.

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